People are less critical of women in public places

Bengaluru ranked third in India for women's employment, according to a study by Avtar, a company that specialises in workplace inclusion. In the survey, which evaluated 111 cities based on their social and professional inclusivity for women, Chennai had the highest city inclusion score (CIS), followed by Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.

With a CIS of 78.41, Chennai was the most welcoming city for women in India, followed by Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. The lowest-ranked city was Lucknow, with a CIS of 25.36. Also receiving poor scores were Ranchi, Guwahati, Patna, and Dhanbad.

With a score of 71.61, Tiruchirappalli topped the list of small cities (those with a population of under a million), followed by Vellore, Erode, Salem, Tiruppur, Puducherry, Shimla, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Belagavi. With ratings of 17.74, 18.35, 18.66, 19.05, and 19.19, respectively, Kavaratti, Muzaffarpur, Satna, Rampur, and Bhagalpur received the lowest rankings among small cities.

The Southern region performed the best across all areas, with an average score of 46.17. With a score of 41.13 on average, the West came in second place, ahead of the North (36.03), the Central (31.17), and the East (29.43).

The research emphasised the need for more inclusive policies and programmes to empower women and observed that there is much opportunity for development in the majority of Indian cities. According to Avtar CEO Anju Bhargava, "This report serves as a wake-up call for cities to prioritise the inclusion of women in all facets of city life."

Tanya (name changed), who has been working with an Ed-tech company for one and a half years, agrees that Bengaluru is a safe place for women. "I've observed women leading diverse teams in the most prominent roles. There is no gender bias; rather, it is more about the work that is done and how you are connected to the company. As a safety precaution, the company does offer cab services to women, after 7:30 pm. We also have PoSH (The Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace) videos that inform the employees about the laws that have been put in place for women's protection and how we could deal with them in the event of an emergency. The HR division upholds confidentiality and makes sure they are always accessible. Whatever duties or responsibilities are assigned to us are based on our qualifications, skills, and experience," she said.

"One of the top three places for women to work is Bengaluru. I work in IT, and I can state that we are expected to put in late hours as part of our job. Even late at night, as a woman, I've never felt unsafe while returning home from work. It is a safe environment for everyone, whether they are at work or in the city. The journey is risk-free and simple. People are less critical of women, how we dress, or where and how long we work. Equal opportunities are given to women in all fields," said Amisha S. Jain, Senior Software Developer, Accenture, Bengaluru. "I was born and raised in Bengaluru, and during my four years of employment, I have worked in two different domains for two companies. Knowing this, it's reasonable to say that very few places provide young people, especially women, with the options, flexibility, and quality of life that Bengaluru does. The environment at work encourages personal development in addition to professional growth. It is a vibrant environment with people from all over the country. You are treated equally with your male peers and have the opportunity to learn from some of the top industry experts. I know very few people who have experienced gender discrimination. I'm glad and fortunate to have the opportunity to establish my career and way of life in this city," expressed Ganashree Gowda, Analyst at Lowe's, Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, Kavya Algeri, who moved from Bengaluru to Chennai, said that she felt safe despite the fact that it was a new city. "After finishing my engineering degree, my first job took me from Bangalore to Chennai. My first exposure to a workplace's appearance occurred at that point. The numerous policies (work timings, PoSH policies, etc.) made sure that I felt safe and was taken care of as a woman in a new city. People are friendly and respectful both at work and in general. It was encouraging to see women in all levels of hierarchy and in all fields of work in an engineering firm because it allayed the numerous concerns young women like myself have as we begin to pursue professions. I suppose you could say that my early employment in Chennai helped me get off to a solid start," she added.